𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆

𝟮. 𝗶𝗹𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗼

"This is ridiculous."

Neither you nor Tsireya dignified your brother's complaint with a response. Ao'nung lagged behind the two of you, arms empty while yours were both stacked high with baskets of fruit and blankets to offer your new guests.

"This is our duty," Tsireya corrected, words formed behind a smile she refused to let slip for one second. Walking beside her, you greeted each of the passing villagers as warmly as the last. After showing Toruk Makto and his family to the empty shelter at the end of the lifted pathways that intersected over the sandbar, you disappeared to collect your siblings before dragging them back along with you.

"Ao'nung, you will take his sons and show them where we keep the ilu. Teach them how we hunt within the reef."

"But–"

"Within the reef."

You weren't a stranger to his habits of straying far from the village, sometimes wandering as far as Three Brothers Rocks all while coercing the youngest and most impressionable of his friends to tag along. You didn't have to turn around to guess what face he was pulling behind your back.

"Why would I ever do such a thing?"

"Because it is expected of you. We will not let these people suffer the shame of being useless." You could only pray to the great mother he was not yet sharp enough to catch you in your lie. Father didn't send you to collect your siblings. Nor did he present Ao'nung with the task of teaching the sons of Toruk Makto to fish. In fact, no one did. That was an order of your own invention — one you hoped would help cultivate new friendships.

"The sooner you teach, the faster they learn. Do it quick and do it right."

He let out an exasperated huff but made no visible display of his frustrations as you neared the end of the pier.

"May I take Kiri to the storyteller's marui?" Tsireya asked, struggling to balance the bundle of blankets at the very top of her basket.

"That is a wonderful idea. Thank you, 'Siri."

It was your duty as eldest sister to ignore the glare she sent over her shoulder and the growl you heard from Ao'nung not a second later. "If that's settled, I will take the little one to see the ilu as well. I caught her admiring the pod of younglings this morning."

Tuk was really the only one in her family who seemed enthralled by your tour of the Awa'atlu Village, but that could have had more to do with how much she was able to sleep during the journey than your skills as a guide.

"You're forgetting something," your brother taunted, hopping down the woven platform and making it warp under your feet.

"I forget nothing."

"What of the mighty Toruk Makto? Who will teach him our ways?"

You bit down softly on the inside of your cheek, not allowing your grin to slip through the cracks of your polite rehearsed smile. Your plans for Toruk Makto were still under development, but they were yours nonetheless. He could one day make a fierce warrior in your clan if he was able to grasp the way of water.

"That is my responsibility to bear, not yours."

⥼ ❋ ⥽

"Tsurak is a warrior's mount."

Tonowari's countless warnings fell on deaf ears. I growled behind the leather band pinned between my teeth as the creature below me thrashed and threatened to break free from the five men holding it still in the shallow water.